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Dwarfs in the Local Region
We present lithium, carbon, and oxygen abundance data for a sample ofnearby dwarfs-a total of 216 stars-including samples within 15 pc of theSun, as well as a sample of local close giant planet (CGP) hosts (55stars) and comparison stars. The spectroscopic data for this work have aresolution of R~60,000, a signal-to-noise ratio >150, and spectralcoverage from 475 to 685 nm. We have redetermined parameters and derivedadditional abundances (Z>10) for the CGP host and comparison samples.From our abundances for elements with Z>6 we determine the meanabundance of all elements in the CGP hosts to range from 0.1 to 0.2 dexhigher than nonhosts. However, when relative abundances ([x/Fe]) areconsidered we detect no differences in the samples. We find nodifference in the lithium contents of the hosts versus the nonhosts. Theplanet hosts appear to be the metal-rich extension of local regionabundances, and overall trends in the abundances are dominated byGalactic chemical evolution. A consideration of the kinematics of thesample shows that the planet hosts are spread through velocity space;they are not exclusively stars of the thin disk.
| Predicting the Length of Magnetic Cycles in Late-Type Stars
In this paper we present a modification of a local approximation of theso-called interface dynamo in an attempt to reproduce the length of themagnetic cycles for a sample of late-type stars. The sample consists of25 stars, observed during the Mount Wilson and Las Campanas long-termmonitoring campaigns, for which well-defined cycles have been detected.We have focused our efforts on reproducing general trends observed,namely, the dependence of the cycle length, Pcyc, on thestellar rotation period, Prot, rather than attempting toinfer from the dynamo model individual cycle lengths for each star. Inspite of the simplicity of the model, the results are promising. Thetrend of increasing cycle length with increasing rotation period isreproduced with a minimum of assumptions.
| Stars within 15 Parsecs: Abundances for a Northern Sample
We present an abundance analysis for stars within 15 pc of the Sunlocated north of -30° declination. We have limited our abundancesample to absolute magnitudes brighter than +7.5 and have eliminatedseveral A stars in the local vicinity. Our final analysis list numbers114 stars. Unlike Allende Prieto et al. in their consideration of a verysimilar sample, we have enforced strict spectroscopic criteria in thedetermination of atmospheric parameters. Nevertheless, our results arevery similar to theirs. We determine the mean metallicity of the localregion to be <[Fe/H]>=-0.07 using all stars and -0.04 when interlopersfrom the thick disk are eliminated.
| Metallicity of M dwarfs. I. A photometric calibration and the impact on the mass-luminosity relation at the bottom of the main sequence
We obtained high resolution ELODIE and CORALIE spectra for bothcomponents of 20 wide visual binaries composed of an F-, G- or K-dwarfprimary and an M-dwarf secondary. We analyse the well-understood spectraof the primaries to determine metallicities ([Fe/H]) for these 20systems, and hence for their M dwarf components. We pool thesemetallicities with determinations from the literature to obtain aprecise (±0.2 dex) photometric calibration of M dwarfmetallicities. This calibration represents a breakthrough in a fieldwhere discussions have had to remain largely qualitative, and it helpsus demonstrate that metallicity explains most of the large dispersion inthe empirical V-band mass-luminosity relation. We examine themetallicity of the two known M-dwarf planet-host stars, Gl876 (+0.02 dex) and Gl 436 (-0.03 dex), inthe context of preferential planet formation around metal-rich stars. Wefinally determine the metallicity of the 47 brightest single M dwarfs ina volume-limited sample, and compare the metallicity distributions ofsolar-type and M-dwarf stars in the solar neighbourhood.
| Abundance trends in kinematical groups of the Milky Way's disk
We have compiled a large catalogue of metallicities and abundance ratiosfrom the literature in order to investigate abundance trends of severalalpha and iron peak elements in the thin disk and the thick disk of theGalaxy. The catalogue includes 743 stars with abundances of Fe, O, Mg,Ca, Ti, Si, Na, Ni and Al in the metallicity range -1.30 < [Fe/H]< +0.50. We have checked that systematic differences betweenabundances measured in the different studies were lower than randomerrors before combining them. Accurate distances and proper motions fromHipparcos and radial velocities from several sources have been retreivedfor 639 stars and their velocities (U, V, W) and galactic orbits havebeen computed. Ages of 322 stars have been estimated with a Bayesianmethod of isochrone fitting. Two samples kinematically representative ofthe thin and thick disks have been selected, taking into account theHercules stream which is intermediate in kinematics, but with a probabledynamical origin. Our results show that the two disks are chemicallywell separated, they overlap greatly in metallicity and both showparallel decreasing alpha elements with increasing metallicity, in theinterval -0.80 < [Fe/H] < -0.30. The Mg enhancement with respectto Fe of the thick disk is measured to be 0.14 dex. An even largerenhancement is observed for Al. The thick disk is clearly older than thethin disk with tentative evidence of an AMR over 2-3 Gyr and a hiatus instar formation before the formation of the thin disk. We do not observea vertical gradient in the metallicity of the thick disk. The Herculesstream has properties similar to that of the thin disk, with a widerrange of metallicity. Metal-rich stars assigned to the thick disk andsuper-metal-rich stars assigned to the thin disk appear as outliers inall their properties.
| Orientations of Orbital Planes of Binaries
Orientations of orbital planes of binaries are analysed by using acomplete sample of known orbital systems. The use of a so large sampleis possible due to the application of a new procedure enabling toinclude the binaries for which the ascending nodes do not certain. It isconcluded that, generally, the distribution of observed orientations ofthe orbital planes does not differ from simulated random orientations.In both cases the same star positions are retained.
| Chromospheric Ca II Emission in Nearby F, G, K, and M Stars
We present chromospheric Ca II H and K activity measurements, rotationperiods, and ages for ~1200 F, G, K, and M type main-sequence stars from~18,000 archival spectra taken at Keck and Lick Observatories as a partof the California and Carnegie Planet Search Project. We have calibratedour chromospheric S-values against the Mount Wilson chromosphericactivity data. From these measurements we have calculated medianactivity levels and derived R'HK, stellar ages,and rotation periods from general parameterizations for 1228 stars,~1000 of which have no previously published S-values. We also presentprecise time series of activity measurements for these stars.Based on observations obtained at Lick Observatory, which is operated bythe University of California, and on observations obtained at the W. M.Keck Observatory, which is operated jointly by the University ofCalifornia and the California Institute of Technology. The KeckObservatory was made possible by the generous financial support of theW. M. Keck Foundation.
| S4N: A spectroscopic survey of stars in the solar neighborhood. The Nearest 15 pc
We report the results of a high-resolution spectroscopic survey of allthe stars more luminous than M_V = 6.5 mag within 14.5 pc from the Sun.The Hipparcos catalog's completeness limits guarantee that our survey iscomprehensive and free from some of the selection effects in othersamples of nearby stars. The resulting spectroscopic database, which wehave made publicly available, includes spectra for 118 stars obtainedwith a resolving power of R ≃ 50 000, continuous spectral coveragebetween 362-921 nm, and typical signal-to-noise ratios in therange 150-600. We derive stellar parameters and perform a preliminaryabundance and kinematic analysis of the F-G-K stars in the sample. Theinferred metallicity ([Fe/H]) distribution is centered at about -0.1dex, and shows a standard deviation of 0.2 dex. A comparison with largersamples of Hipparcos stars, some of which have been part of previousabundance studies, suggests that our limited sample is representative ofa larger volume of the local thin disk. We identify a number ofmetal-rich K-type stars which appear to be very old, confirming theclaims for the existence of such stars in the solar neighborhood. Withatmospheric effective temperatures and gravities derived independentlyof the spectra, we find that our classical LTE model-atmosphere analysisof metal-rich (and mainly K-type) stars provides discrepant abundancesfrom neutral and ionized lines of several metals. This ionizationimbalance could be a sign of departures from LTE or inhomogeneousstructure, which are ignored in the interpretation of the spectra.Alternatively, but seemingly unlikely, the mismatch could be explainedby systematic errors in the scale of effective temperatures. Based ontransitions of majority species, we discuss abundances of 16 chemicalelements. In agreement with earlier studies we find that the abundanceratios to iron of Si, Sc, Ti, Co, and Zn become smaller as the ironabundance increases until approaching the solar values, but the trendsreverse for higher iron abundances. At any given metallicity, stars witha low galactic rotational velocity tend to have high abundances of Mg,Si, Ca, Sc, Ti, Co, Zn, and Eu, but low abundances of Ba, Ce, and Nd.The Sun appears deficient by roughly 0.1 dex in O, Si, Ca, Sc, Ti, Y,Ce, Nd, and Eu, compared to its immediate neighbors with similar ironabundances.Based on observations made with the 2.7 m telescope at the McDonaldObservatory of the University of Texas at Austin (Texas), and the 1.52 mtelescope at the European Southern Observatory (La Silla, Chile) underthe agreement with the CNPq/Observatorio Nacional (Brazil).Tables 3-5 are only available in electronic form at the CDS viaanonymous ftp to cdsarc.u-strasbg.fr (130.79.128.5) or viahttp://cdsweb.u-strasbg.fr/cgi-bin/qcat?J/A+A/420/183
| NEXXUS: A comprehensive ROSAT survey of coronal X-ray emission among nearby solar-like stars
We present a final summary of all ROSAT X-ray observations of nearbystars. All available ROSAT observations with the ROSAT PSPC, HRI and WFChave been matched with the CNS4 catalog of nearby stars and the resultsgathered in the Nearby X-ray and XUV-emitting Stars data base, availablevia www from the Home Page of the Hamburger Sternwarte at the URLhttp://www.hs.uni-hamburg.de/DE/For/Gal/Xgroup/nexxus. Newvolume-limited samples of F/G-stars (dlim = 14 pc), K-stars(dlim = 12 pc), and M-stars (dlim = 6 pc) areconstructed within which detection rates of more than 90% are obtained;only one star (GJ 1002) remains undetected in a pointed follow-upobservation. F/G-stars, K-stars and M-stars have indistinguishablesurface X-ray flux distributions, and the lower envelope of the observeddistribution at FX ≈ 104 erg/cm2/sis the X-ray flux level observed in solar coronal holes. Large amplitudevariations in X-ray flux are uncommon for solar-like stars, but maybemore common for stars near the bottom of the main sequence; a largeamplitude flare is reported for the M star LHS 288. Long term X-raylight curves are presented for α Cen A/B and Gl 86, showingvariations on time scales of weeks and demonstrating that α Cen Bis a flare star.Tables 1-3 are also available in electronic form at the CDS viaanonymous ftp to cdsarc.u-strasbg.fr (130.79.128.5) or viahttp://cdsweb.u-strasbg.fr/cgi-bin/qcat?J/A+A/417/651
| Improved Astrometry and Photometry for the Luyten Catalog. II. Faint Stars and the Revised Catalog
We complete construction of a catalog containing improved astrometry andnew optical/infrared photometry for the vast majority of NLTT starslying in the overlap of regions covered by POSS I and by the secondincremental Two Micron All Sky Survey (2MASS) release, approximately 44%of the sky. The epoch 2000 positions are typically accurate to 130 mas,the proper motions to 5.5 mas yr-1, and the V-J colors to0.25 mag. Relative proper motions of binary components are measured to 3mas yr-1. The false-identification rate is ~1% for11<~V<~18 and substantially less at brighter magnitudes. Theseimprovements permit the construction of a reduced proper-motion diagramthat, for the first time, allows one to classify NLTT stars intomain-sequence (MS) stars, subdwarfs (SDs), and white dwarfs (WDs). We inturn use this diagram to analyze the properties of both our catalog andthe NLTT catalog on which it is based. In sharp contrast to popularbelief, we find that NLTT incompleteness in the plane is almostcompletely concentrated in MS stars, and that SDs and WDs are detectedalmost uniformly over the sky δ>-33deg. Our catalogwill therefore provide a powerful tool to probe these populationsstatistically, as well as to reliably identify individual SDs and WDs.
| Contributions to the Nearby Stars (NStars) Project: Spectroscopy of Stars Earlier than M0 within 40 Parsecs: The Northern Sample. I.
We have embarked on a project, under the aegis of the Nearby Stars(NStars)/Space Interferometry Mission Preparatory Science Program, toobtain spectra, spectral types, and, where feasible, basic physicalparameters for the 3600 dwarf and giant stars earlier than M0 within 40pc of the Sun. In this paper, we report on the results of this projectfor the first 664 stars in the northern hemisphere. These resultsinclude precise, homogeneous spectral types, basic physical parameters(including the effective temperature, surface gravity, and overallmetallicity [M/H]), and measures of the chromospheric activity of ourprogram stars. Observed and derived data presented in this paper arealso available on the project's Web site.
| Dependence of coronal X-ray emission on spot-induced brightness variations in cool main sequence stars
The maximum amplitude (Amax) of spot-induced brightnessvariations from long-term V-band photometry and the ratioLX/Lbol between X-ray and bolometric luminositiesare suitable indicators of the level of magnetic activity in thephotosphere and in the corona of late-type stars, respectively. By usingthese activity indicators we investigate the dependence of coronal X-rayemission on the level of photospheric starspot activity in a homogeneoussample of low mass main sequence field and cluster stars of differentages (IC 2602, IC 4665,IC 2391, alpha Persei,Pleiades and Hyades). First, theactivity-rotation connection at the photospheric level is re-analysed,as well as its dependence on spectral type and age. The upper envelopeof Amax increases monotonically with decreasing rotationalperiod (P) and Rossby number (R0) showing a break around 1.1d that separates two rotation regimes where the starspot activity showsdifferent behaviours. The Amax-P andAmax-R0 relations are fitted with linear,exponential and power laws to look for the function which bestrepresents the trend of the data. The highest values of Amaxare found among K-type stars and at the ages of alphaPersei and Pleiades. We also analyse theactivity-rotation connection at the coronal level as well as itsdependence on spectral type. The level of X-ray emission increases withincreasing rotation rate up to a saturation level. The rotational periodat which saturation occurs is colour-dependent and increases withadvancing spectral type. Also the LX/Lbol-P andLX/Lbol-R0 relations are fitted withlinear, exponential and power laws to look for the best fittingfunction. Among the fastest rotating stars (P<=0.3 d) there isevidence of super-saturation. Also the highest values ofLXLbol are found among K-type stars. Finally, thephotospheric-coronal activity connection is investigated by using forthe first time the largest ever sample of light curve amplitudes asindicators of the magnetic filling factor. The activity parametersLX/Lbol and Amax are found to becorrelated with each other, thus confirming the dependence of coronalactivity on photospheric magnetic fields. More precisely, theLX/Lbol-Amax distribution shows thepresence of an upper envelope, which is constant at theLX/Lbol =~ -3.0 saturation level, and of a lowerenvelope. The best fit to the lower envelope is given by a power lawwith steepness decreasing from F-G to M spectral types. However, it isconsidered a tentative result, since the fit reduced chi-squares arelarge. Such spectral-type dependence may be related to a colourdependence of Amax on the total starspot filling factor, aswell as to the coronal emission being possibly more sensitive tostarspot activity variations in F- and G-type than in M-type stars. TheLX/Lbol-Amax mean values for eachcluster in our sample decrease monotonically with increasing age,showing that the levels of photospheric and coronal activity evolve intime according to a single power law till the Sun's age.Tables of the photometric and X-ray data sets are only available inelectronic form at the CDS via anonymous ftp to cdsarc.u-strasbg.fr(130.79.128.5) or viahttp://cdsweb.u-strasbg.fr/cgi-bin/qcat?J/A+A/410/671
| Statistical cataloging of archival data for luminosity class IV-V stars. II. The epoch 2001 [Fe/H] catalog
This paper describes the derivation of an updated statistical catalog ofmetallicities. The stars for which those metallicities apply are ofspectral types F, G, and K, and are on or near the main sequence. Theinput data for the catalog are values of [Fe/H] published before 2002February and derived from lines of weak and moderate strength. Theanalyses used to derive the data have been based on one-dimensional LTEmodel atmospheres. Initial adjustments which are applied to the datainclude corrections to a uniform temperature scale which is given in acompanion paper (see Taylor \cite{t02}). After correction, the data aresubjected to a statistical analysis. For each of 941 stars considered,the results of that analysis include a mean value of [Fe/H], an rmserror, an associated number of degrees of freedom, and one or moreidentification numbers for source papers. The catalog of these resultssupersedes an earlier version given by Taylor (\cite{t94b}).Catalog is only available in electronic form at the CDS via anonymousftp cdsarc.u-strasbg.fr (130.79.128.5) or viahttp://cdsweb.u-strasbg.fr/cgi-bin/qcat?J/A+A/398/731
| Statistical cataloging of archival data for luminosity class IV-V stars. I. The epoch 2001 temperature catalog
This paper is one of a pair in which temperatures and metallicitycatalogs for class IV-V stars are considered. The temperature catalogdescribed here is derived from a calibration based on stellar angulardiameters. If published calibrations of this kind are compared by usingcolor-index transformations, temperature-dependent differences among thecalibrations are commonly found. However, such differences are minimizedif attention is restricted to calibrations based on Johnson V-K. Acalibration of this sort from Di Benedetto (\cite{dib98}) is thereforetested and adopted. That calibration is then applied to spectroscopicand photometric data, with the latter predominating. Cousins R-Iphotometry receives special attention because of its high precision andlow metallicity sensitivity. Testing of temperatures derived from thecalibration suggests that their accuracy and precision are satisfactory,though further testing will be warranted as new results appear. Thesetemperatures appear in the catalog as values of theta equiv5040/T(effective). Most of these entries are accompanied by measured orderived values of Cousins R-I. Entries are given for 951 stars.Catalog is only available in electronic form at the CDS via anonymousftp to cdsarc.u-strasbg.fr (130.79.128.5) or viahttp://cdsweb.u-strasbg.fr/cgi-bin/qcat?J/A+A/398/721
| Multiplicity among solar-type stars. III. Statistical properties of the F7-K binaries with periods up to 10 years
Two CORAVEL radial velocity surveys - one among stars in the solarneighbourhood, the other in the Pleiades and in Praesepe - are merged toderive the statistical properties of main-sequence binaries withspectral types F7 to K and with periods up to 10 years. A sample of 89spectroscopic orbits was finally obtained. Among them, 52 relate to afree-of-bias selection of 405 stars (240 field stars and 165 clusterstars). The statistics corrected for selection effects yield thefollowing results: (1) No discrepancy is found between the binariesamong field stars and the binaries in open cluster. The distributions ofmass ratios, of periods, the period-eccentricity diagram and the binaryfrequencies are all within the same error intervals. (2) Thedistribution of mass ratios presents two maxima: a broad peak from q ~0.2 to q ~ 0.7, and a sharp peak for q > 0.8 (twins). Both arepresent among the early-type as well as among the late-type part of thesample, indicating a scale-free formation process. The peak for q >0.8 gradually decreases when long-period binaries are considered.Whatever their periods, the twins have eccentricities significantlylower than the other binaries, confirming a difference in the formationprocesses. Twins could be generated by in situ formation followed byaccretion from a gaseous envelope, whereas binaries with intermediatemass ratios could be formed at wide separations, but they are madecloser by migration led by interactions with a circumbinary disk. (3)The frequency of binaries with P<10 years is about 14%. (4) About0.3% of binaries are expected to appear as false positives in a planetsearch. Therefore, the frequency of planetary systems among stars ispresently 7+4-2%. The extension of thedistribution of mass ratios in the planetary range would result in avery sharp and very high peak, well separated from the binary stars withlow mass ratios. Based on photoelectric radial-velocity measurementscollected at Haute-Provence observatory and on observations made withthe ESA Hipparcos astrometry satellite.
| The stellar activity-rotation relationship revisited: Dependence of saturated and non-saturated X-ray emission regimes on stellar mass for late-type dwarfs
We present the results of a new study on the relationship betweencoronal X-ray emission and stellar rotation in late-type main-sequencestars. We have selected a sample of 259 dwarfs in the B-V range 0.5-2.0,including 110 field stars and 149 members of the Pleiades, Hyades, alphaPersei, IC 2602 and IC 2391 open clusters. All the stars have beenobserved with ROSAT, and most of them have photometrically-measuredrotation periods available. Our results confirm that two emissionregimes exist, one in which the rotation period is a good predictor ofthe total X-ray luminosity, and the other in which a constant saturatedX-ray to bolometric luminosity ratio is attained; we present aquantitative estimate of the critical rotation periods below which starsof different masses (or spectral types) enter the saturated regime. Inthis work we have also empirically derived a characteristic time scale,taue , which we have used to investigate the relationshipbetween the X-ray emission level and an X-ray-based Rossby numberRe = Prot/taue: we show that ourempirical time scale taue resembles the theoreticalconvective turnover time for 0.4 <~ M/Msun <~ 1.2, butit also has the same functional dependence on B-V asLbol-1/2 in the color range 0.5 <~ B-V <~1.5. Our results imply that - for non-saturated coronae - theLx - Prot relation is equivalent to theLx/Lbol vs. Re relation. Tables 1 and 2are only available in electronic form at \ http://www.edpsciences.org
| Kinematics of Hipparcos Visual Binaries. II. Stars with Ground-Based Orbital Solutions
This paper continues kinematical investigations of the Hipparcos visualbinaries with known orbits. A sample, consisting of 804 binary systemswith orbital elements determined from ground-based observations, isselected. The mean relative error of their parallaxes is about 12% andthe mean relative error of proper motions is about 4%. However, even 41%of the sample stars lack radial velocity measurements. The computedGalactic velocity components and other kinematical parameters are usedto divide the stars with known radial velocities into kinematical agegroups. The majority (92%) of binaries from the sample are thin diskstars, 7.6% have thick disk kinematics and only two binaries have halokinematics. Among them, the long-period variable Mira Ceti has a verydiscordant {Hipparcos} and ground-based parallax values. From the wholesample, 60 stars are ascribed to the thick disk and halo population.There is an urgent need to increase the number of the identified halobinaries with known orbits and substantially improve the situation withradial velocity data for stars with known orbits.
| Revised Coordinates and Proper Motions of the Stars in the Luyten Half-Second Catalog
We present refined coordinates and proper-motion data for the highproper-motion (HPM) stars in the Luyten Half-Second (LHS) catalog. Thepositional uncertainty in the original Luyten catalog is typicallygreater than 10" and is often greater than 30". We have used the digitalscans of the POSS I and POSS II plates to derive more accurate positionsand proper motions of the objects. Out of the 4470 candidates in the LHScatalog, 4323 objects were manually reidentified in the POSS I and POSSII scans. A small fraction of the stars were not found because of thelack of finder charts and digitized POSS II scans. The uncertainties inthe revised positions are typically ~2" but can be as high as ~8" in afew cases, which is a large improvement over the original data.Cross-correlation with the Tycho-2 and Hipparcos catalogs yielded 819candidates (with mR<~12). For these brighter sources, theposition and proper-motion data were replaced with the more accurateTycho-2/Hipparcos data. In total, we have revised proper-motionmeasurements and coordinates for 4040 stars and revised coordinates for4330 stars. The electronic version of the paper5 contains the updated information on all 4470stars in the LHS catalog.
| The X-ray Emission and the Magnetic Fields of Late-Type Stars
We present the results of X-ray luminosities of some active late-typestars, based on data primarily from the ROSAT position sensitiveproportional counter (PSPC). According to the observations, we dividethe stars into four groups: single, wide binary, binary and RS CVn. Weinvestigated the correlation between the X-ray emission and the hardnessratio, coronal temperature, magnetic field strength, magnetic fluxdensity. Our results suggest that the magnetic field plays a veryimportant role in stellar X-ray emission.
| A new look at dynamo cycle amplitudes
We explore the dependence of the amplitude of stellar dynamo cyclevariability (as seen in the Mount Wilson Ca II HK timeseries data) onother stellar parameters. We find that the fractional cycle amplitudeA_cyc (i.e. the ratio of the peak-to-peak variation to the average)decreases somewhat with mean activity, increases with decreasingeffective temperature, but is not correlated with inverse Rossby numberRo-1. We find that A_cyc increases with the ratio of cycleand rotational frequencies omega_cyc /Omega along two, nearly parallelbranches.
| The Palomar/MSU Nearby Star Spectroscopic Survey. III. Chromospheric Activity, M Dwarf Ages, and the Local Star Formation History
We present high-resolution echelle spectroscopy of 676 nearby M dwarfs.Our measurements include radial velocities, equivalent widths ofimportant chromospheric emission lines, and rotational velocities forrapidly rotating stars. We identify several distinct groups by theirHα properties and investigate variations in chromospheric activityamong early (M0-M2.5) and mid (M3-M6) dwarfs. Using a volume-limitedsample together with a relationship between age and chromosphericactivity, we show that the rate of star formation in the immediate solarneighborhood has been relatively constant over the last 4 Gyr. Inparticular, our results are inconsistent with recent large bursts ofstar formation. We use the correlation between Hα activity and ageas a function of color to set constraints on the properties of L and Tdwarf secondary components in binary systems. We also identify a numberof interesting stars, including rapid rotators, radial velocityvariables, and spectroscopic binaries. Observations were made at the 60inch telescope at Palomar Mountain, which is jointly owned by theCalifornia Institute of Technology and the Carnegie Institution ofWashington.
| A new look at the relationship between activity, dynamo number and Rossby number in late-type stars
The correlation between stellar activity, as measured by the indicatorΔRHK, and the Rossby number Ro in late-type stars isrevisited in light of recent developments in solar dynamo theory.Different stellar interior models, based on both mixing-length theoryand the full spectrum of turbulence, are used in order to see to whatextent the correlation of activity with Rossby number is modeldependent, or otherwise can be considered universal. Although we findsome modest model dependence, we find that the correlation of activitywith Rossby number is significantly better than with rotation periodalone for all the models we consider. Dynamo theory suggests thatactivity should scale with the dynamo number. A current model of thesolar dynamo, the so-called interface dynamo, proposes that theamplification of the toroidal magnetic field by differential rotation(the ω-effect) and the production of the poloidal magnetic fieldfrom toroidal by helical turbulence (the α-effect) take place indifferent, adjacent layers near the base of the convection zone. A newscale analysis based on the interface dynamo shows that the appropriatedynamo number does not depend on the Rossby number alone, but alsodepends on an additional dimensionless factor related to thedifferential rotation. This leads to a new interpretation of thecorrelation between activity and Rossby number, which in turn leads tosome conclusions about the magnitude of differential rotation in thedynamo layers of late-type main-sequence stars.
| Levels of coronal and chromospheric activity in late-type stars and various types of dynamo waves
We analyze the X-ray emission and chromospheric activity of late-type F,G, and K stars studied in the framework of the HK project. More powerfulcoronas are possessed by stars displaying irregular variations of theirchromospheric emission, while stars with cyclic activity arecharacterized by comparatively modest X-ray luminosities and ratios ofthe X-ray to bolometric luminosity L X/L bol. This indicates that thenature of processes associated with magnetic-field amplification in theconvective envelope changes appreciably in the transition from small tolarge dynamo numbers, directly affecting the character of the(α-Ω) dynamo. Due to the strong dependence of both thedynamo number and the Rossby number on the speed of axial rotation,earlier correlations found between various activity parameters and theRossby number are consistent with our conclusions. Our analysis makes itpossible to draw the first firm conclusions about the place of solaractivity among analogous processes developing in active late-type stars.
| Catalogue of Apparent Diameters and Absolute Radii of Stars (CADARS) - Third edition - Comments and statistics
The Catalogue, available at the Centre de Données Stellaires deStrasbourg, consists of 13 573 records concerning the results obtainedfrom different methods for 7778 stars, reported in the literature. Thefollowing data are listed for each star: identifications, apparentmagnitude, spectral type, apparent diameter in arcsec, absolute radiusin solar units, method of determination, reference, remarks. Commentsand statistics obtained from CADARS are given. The Catalogue isavailable in electronic form at the CDS via anonymous ftp tocdsarc.u-strasbg.fr (130.79.128.5) or viahttp://cdsweb.u-strasbg.fr/cgi-bin/qcar?J/A+A/367/521
| The ``rotation-activity connection'': Its extension to photospheric activity diagnostics
In this paper we present the results of a different approach in thestudy of the so-called rotation-activity connection, which is a wellestablished correlation between rotation and magnetic activity atchromospheric and outer atmospheric levels. The present study concernsthe photospheric level and was carried out by using V-band photometriclight curve amplitudes as indicators of starspot coverage and ofmagnetic activity. A high degree of correlation between the envelope ofmaximum V-band light curve amplitudes and the rotation period is foundfor the active star members of young open clusters (IC 2602, IC 2391,Alpha Persei, Pleiades and Hyades), as well as for active field stars.This correlation shows a different behaviour in two different rotationperiod ranges. Moreover, some evidence of a possible activity``saturation'' is found among the most rapidly rotating stars of thesample. Additional correlations between photospheric and other magneticactivity indicators in the chromosphere, transition region and coronaare also investigated. The results presented here can be considered asan extension of the well established rotation-activity connection validfrom the corona, transition region and chromosphere, down to thephotosphere.
| Optical follow-up of ROSAT discovered candidate members of the open cluster Coma Berenices
We have carried out an optical follow-up of twelve ROSAT discoveredcandidate members of the Coma Berenices open cluster. VRI photometry andlow resolution ( ~ 3 Å) spectroscopy in the range 3800-7000Åwere performed to obtain colour-magnitude diagrams, propermotions, spectral types, chromospheric activity levels and radialvelocities that allow us to establish whether or not these candidatesare reliable cluster members. Only four of these objects show opticalphotometry marginally compatible with the main sequence delineated byknown cluster stars. They also exhibit spectral types corresponding tolate-K and early-M, and radial velocities which are not inconsistentwith membership in Coma Berenices. The proper motions of thesecandidates are, however, very high and incompatible with the small valueassociated with the cluster. Thus, none of the ROSAT candidates can beconsidered members of Coma Berenices. This result tends to favour thehypothesis that the mass of the cluster and its average mass density arelower than what is required for stability, allowing the clusterdissolution by the escape of the less massive stars. We discuss theprobable nature of these objects on the basis of the availableinformation. From our radial velocity observations we infer that five ofthem could be formed by multiple stars. In particular, we havediscovered one W-type W UMa contact binary system (K6 spectral type)which is, in addition, a visual companion to a cooler star. Based onobservations made with the Isaac Newton telescope, operated on theisland of La Palma by the Isaac Newton Group in the Spanish Observatoriodel Roque de los Muchachos, with the IAC80 telescope and with theEuropean Space Agency OGS telescope operated on the island of Tenerifeby the Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias in the SpanishObservatorio del Teide of the Instituto de Astrofísica deCanarias.
| RXJ 0529.4+0041: a low-mass pre-main sequence eclipsing-spectroscopic binary
We report the discovery of a low-mass pre-main sequence eclipsing systemamong a sample of double-lined spectroscopic binaries found recently onthe basis of ROSAT follow-up observations in the Orion star formingregion. From the analysis of the available photometric and spectroscopicdata, we derive orbital elements as well as fundamental stellarparameters for the individual components of the eclipsing PMS binary RXJ0529.4+0041. These results provide a new observational test fortheoretical PMS evolutionary models setting some useful constraints oncurrently available PMS tracks and isochrones. Based on observationscarried out with the 2.2m telescope of Calar Alto Observatory (Spain),the Swiss Euler telescope (La Silla--Chile), the 0.9m telescope of SerraLa Nave (Catania, Italy)
| Wide binaries among high-velocity and metal-poor stars
A catalogue of 122 wide binaries is presented. The list was compiled bysearching for common proper-motion companions to the more than 1200high-velocity and metal-poor stars of Schuster and collaborators. Westudy the separations for the wide binaries (< a> > 25 AU), andfind that they follow Oepik's distribution all the way up to 10 000 AU.A subgroup of them, the ones with the most halo-like orbits, followOepik's distribution up to 20 000 AU. The galactic orbits of all systemsare calculated, and galactic orbital parameters are used, along with themetallicites, to assign each one to the old thin disk, the thick disk,or the halo population. Table~2 is only available in electronic form atthe CDS via anonymous ftp to cdsarc.u.strasbg.fr (130.79.128.5) or viahttp://cdsweb.u-strasbg.fr/Abstract.html
| A systematic analysis of X-ray variability of dM stars
We have systematically analyzed X-ray variability of dM stars. Our database is the sample of all dM stars listed in the CNS3 (Gliese &Jahreiss 1991) catalog which have been observed with the ROSAT PSPC. Ourdata sample includes 86 pointed observations of 55 distinct stars ormultiple systems. A large fraction of stars shows significantvariations, regardless of their quiescent flux. Variability is detectedon all observable time scales. The amplitudes of these variations areindependent of both stellar X-ray and visual luminosity. Compared tosolar X-ray variability properties our results suggest that theamplitude distribution of X-ray variability in dM stars is consistentwith the analogous distribution for solar flares. We discuss the effectof variability on the spread observed in the X-ray luminosity functionof M stars. The comparison of our data with those obtained with EinsteinIPC shows that variations on time scales shorter than a few month aremore common than long term variations comparable to, e.g., the 11 yearssolar cycle.
| Time Evolution of the Magnetic Activity Cycle Period. II. Results for an Expanded Stellar Sample
We further explore nondimensional relationships between the magneticdynamo cycle period P_cyc, the rotational period P_rot, the activitylevel (as observed in Ca II HK), and other stellar properties byexpanding the stellar sample studied in the first paper in this series.We do this by adding photometric and other cycles seen in active starsand the secondaries of CV systems and by selectively adding less certaincycles from the Mount Wilson HK survey; evolved stars, long-term HKtrends and secondary P_cyc are also considered. We confirm that moststars with age t>~0.1 Gyr occupy two roughly parallel branches,separated by a factor of ~6 in P_cyc, with the ratio of cycle androtational frequencies ω_cyc/Ω~Ro^-0.5, where Ro is theRossby number. Using the model of the first paper in this series, thisresult implies that the α effect increases with mean magneticfield (contrary to the traditional α-quenching concept) and thatα and ω_cyc decrease with t. Stars are not strictlysegregated onto one or the other branch by activity level, though thehigh-ω_cyc/Ω branch is primarily composed of inactive stars.The expanded data set suggests that for t>~1 Gyr, stars can havecycles on one or both branches, though among older stars, those withhigher (lower) mass tend to have their primary P_cyc on the lower(upper) ω_cyc/Ω branch. The Sun's ~80 yr Gleissberg cycleagrees with this scenario, suggesting that long-term activity ``trends''in many stars may be segments of long (P_cyc~50-100 yr) cycles not yetresolved by the data. Most very active stars (P_rot<3 days) appear tooccupy a new, third branch with ω_cyc/Ω~Ro^0.4. Many RS CVnvariables lie in a transition region between the two most activebranches. We compare our results with various models, discuss theirimplications for dynamo theory and evolution, and use them to predictP_cyc for three groups: stars with long-term HK trends, stars in youngopen clusters, and stars that may be in Maunder-like magnetic minima.
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